Dragonsword
by Shira
Summary: Lina and Gourry go off to find Gourry a new sword after the Darkstar battle... But the sword they find is doing something strange... *bum bum bum* ALL Lina/Gourry!!
1. Search for Swords

_Hiyas! Here's anoth all Lina/Gourry ficcie for you! I can't believe it! Another ficcie without ANY Zel/Ame!!! *sniff* ANYWAYS! Lina and Gourry is almost jsut as good... I wanted this to be Zel/Ame, but the plot didn't fit, so it had to be Lina/Gourry! But that's okay! Read and enjoy, minna-san! ^^_

About six months after the DarkStar battle, the Slayers had all gone their separate ways. Amelia was in Seyruun, dully and impassionately learning her dutiful princess chores. Zelgadis had gone south into the desert to try to find his cure, trusting his fate in the hands of a black market dealer. 

While those two were doing such, Lina and Gourry were roaming the world. For the most part they just tried out new foods they hadn't had time to sample during their quicker travels, but they were also looking for a new sword for Gourry. Since Sirius had taken the Sword of Light back to the Overworld, Gourry had to use a plain sword. He found it didn't compare with the Sword of Light, and felt strange without a more powerful blade. So he and Lina started to search for one. 

They'd had several 'maybe's by way of blades, but nothing had seemed to fit for Gourry. Lina knew the one thing Gourry knew about was swords, and if it didn't feel right, it wouldn't work. So they kept going. The Holy Sword of the Sandpeople was out-- that had to remain where it was to guard the beast. There was the Quicksilver Blade, but when Gourry had tried it out, he found it flimsy and hard to control. The Burning Rapier wasn't the style of sword Gourry was used to-- the Rapier was long and bendable, more for fencing than actual fighting. The Lancer's Longsword, it turned out, wasn't magical at all-- some guy had killed a monster with it ages ago, and so they deemed it special. The Sword of Flame turned out to be nonexistent-- just a rumor some black market junkie had come up with to make some quick cash. He'd been rewarded for tricking Lina with a Fireball in the face. 

Even after so many dunces and failures, Lina and Gourry still kept searching. Finally, Lina caught wind of a blade called the Dragon Sword. As she knew, a sorcerer had killed a dragon with the Dragon Slave spell, then known as the Dragon Slayer. Rumor had it that the Dragon Sword belonged to that sorcerer. 

"If such an important sorcerer had a sword," Lina told Gourry. "Then it must be magical somehow!" 

So the two of them set off towards the mountains, where the sword was said to be hidden away. When Gourry asked how they would find the sword if it was hidden, Lina just shrugged, and said, "We'll worry about that when we get there." 

Unfortunately, when they got there, Lina had still not figured out how they would find it. They followed the trail all the way to the foot of the mountain, and found themselves staring at the face. Neither of them could see a way in or anywhere around it. It was actually sheer luck that caused Gourry to trip on a loose stone and fall into the hidden panel. When he slammed into it, it slowly opened, revealing a magically lit hallway delving deep into the mountain. 

"Way to go, Gourry!" Lina shouted, and ran over there. She dragged him by his hair into the cavern. After Gourry had regained his balance, he stood up, Lina letting go of his hair. 

The hallway was very long and straight, but they both noticed that it sloped down gradually as they walked. The magical light was a faint blue, giving the place a very eerie feel about it. It was damp, and occasionally fog and mist would swirl around their ankles. 

As the two of them went deeper and deeper, Lina started getting goose pimples. She ignored them, figuring they were a cause from the dampness and the cold, together with the downright creep factor of the place. But, even though she told herself it was only chills, she still had a strong sense of foreboding. 

Before Lina could decide that the goose pimples might really be something, they reached the end of the long corridor, which opened into a massive chamber. The ceiling was too high to be seen. The entire cavern was dome-shaped, with occasional drops in the ground. Aside from the size, it was rather strange. The entire room was empty except for one decoration on the wall. 

The decoration was directly across from the entrance from the corridor. There were two pillars carved right into the stone, which stood on either side of what looked like stone wardrobe doors. There was a small statue of a dragon leaning on the top of the "doors" with its wings spread, and the handles were in the shape of claws. 

Cautiously, Lina and Gourry made their way across the floor, stepping over pitfalls and ditches in the uneven ground. Gourry slipped more than once, stumbling in ditches and slipping knee-high into small holes. But eventually they made it to the far wall, where stood the strange decor. 

"Go ahead," Lina told him, gesturing to the doors. "It'll be your sword..." 

Gourry nodded, and reached out with one hand. He grabbed one claw-handle, and pulled. It didn't open. He jiggled it a little, and tried yanking it open. The door didn't budge. Frustrated, Gourry grabbed the handle in both hands, and gave it as hard a tug as he could. The door inched open slowly. After it was open about four inches, it suddenly swung wide, causing Gourry to fall backwards. 

After rubbing his sore bottom, Gourry got up again, and shoved the other door open. Inside the stone doors was a rack covered in dragon motifs, with a strange sword held vertical by a talon-shaped hook. 

The sword's hilt was identical to a head of a dragon. The entire hilt was black, except for the dragon's eyes, which glittered bright red. The cross-brace just above the hilt resembled a pair of skeletal wings without the sail in between. The blade itself was long and silver, with pale flames engraved at the base. 

Gourry admired the sword for a moment, reveling in it's magnificence and splendor, before he slowly put one hand forward. The moment his hand gripped the hilt, his eyes flashed bright red-- just for half a second --before they turned back to their normal blue. He felt something tingling through his hand, up his arm, and through his whole body. It lasted only a fraction of a second, before he felt completely normal again. 

Turning away from the dragon-covered shrine, Gourry tested the weight and balance of the blade. It was almost as though it were made for him. It suited him almost as well as the Sword of Light had. 

"You like it?" Lina asked him, looking at the dragon-hilted weapon. 

Nodding, Gourry replied, "Yeah. It's perfect." 

Lina nodded perfunctorily, and said, "Good. Now let's get out of this place-- I've got goose pimples." 

Together, they made their way back across the room. Surprisingly, Gourry didn't trip, stumble, or slip even once. They got back in the corridor, and headed back up again. As they went further and further up, Lina was amazed to find that her goose pimples didn't go away. She could no longer use the chill as a scapegoat, seeing as it was fairly warm towards the top. But, instead of pondering their presence, she ignored them, and concentrated on feeling proud of herself for finding Gourry a sword. 

Outside the mountain, it was still pretty early afternoon. With nothing else better to do, Lina and Gourry just kept walking, back towards the town they'd left a few days ago. After a few minutes, Lina decided that she was hungry, and she was going to catch them some fish. So they stopped beside a river, Gourry leaning against a tree, his new sword in a scabbard at his hip, while Lina knelt by the river and caught a huge mound of fish with her spell. 

While Lina was concentrating on fishing, Gourry's eyes flashed red again. This time they stayed red longer. They stayed red long enough for him to glance unfamiliarly around their temporary resting spot, and stare bug-eyed at the pile of fish. When he looked over at Lina, his red eyes took in every curve of her body, before looking up at her face. Then Gourry grinned wickedly, and started to get up. But his eyes flickered back to blue. He shrugged, and leaned back against his tree again, his hands behind his head. 

Lina's back had been to Gourry during that whole episode, so he had been unaware. While she fished, she rubbed at her arms, trying to get her goose pimples to go away. She couldn't blame cold or creepiness, and they weren't any danger now that they were out of the mountain cave. So what could they mean? 

Again, Lina just shrugged it all away, and thought only about catching as many fish as her empty stomach could hold-- which was quite a lot. 

After Lina had gathered an enormous heap of freshly-caught fish, she decided on the quick way to cook them, and just Fireball-ed the whole pile. Then she started digging ravenously into her food. 

Gourry started to dive into the fish along with Lina, but his eyes flicked to red once again. He eyed the huge pile of fish with a very disgusted look, and stared incredulously at Lina, who was shoving three fish in her mouth at a time. He picked up one well-cooked fish, and poked it a few times, before tossing it back on the pile. He was about to get up again, when his eyes shifted colors again, regaining their blue hue. 

When his eyes returned to blue, Gourry dug into the pile of fish, and shoveled fish into his mouth with the same voracity Lina did. The two of them finished off the mound of fish in record time, and each leaned against a tree in satisfaction. 

"That was good," Gourry drawled. 

Lina nodded, and said, "Yeah..." With great effort, she hauled herself to her feet, and said, "We'd better get going. It's getting dark." Gourry stood up, and started following Lina down the trail again. 

Things were perfect in Gourry's world. He and Lina were traveling, they'd tried great foods from all over, and he got a new sword. True, Zelgadis and Amelia weren't with them, but they hadn't run into too much trouble since they began their traveling again. No mazoku or dragons or crazy sorcerers. No fish-people, either. 

A few hours later, the sun was starting to drop, and they were getting tired. Gourry was just about to comment that he was dead tired and wanted to stop and sleep, when his eyes glittered red. "Perhaps we should make camp over in that copse of trees," Gourry said, pointing. 

Lina stopped dead in her tracks. She had thought Gourry said something very un-Gourry-like. And his voice hadn't sounded like Gourry either. She turned around, and looked up at him, his blue eyes smiling down at her. "What?" she asked, wondering if she heard Gourry right. 

"Huh?" was Gourry's clueless reply. 

"Huh?" 

"What?" 

"What'd you say?" 

"What did I say?" 

"You said something." 

"What'd I say?" 

"Nevermind!" Lina said in exasperation. "Let's stop for camp over here..." She led Gourry over to a gentle slope off to the side of the trail, figuring she'd just imagined Gourry saying something intelligent. She was tired, and was hallucinating. To Lina's disgust, her goose pimples still hadn't gone away. They made the hairs on the back of her neck stand out, and gave her shudders. 

Shoving aside all thoughts of an intelligent Gourry and creepy goose pimples, Lina concentrated solely on sleeping. She grabbed the edge of her cape and, laying down on the slope, tucked it around herself, and curled her knees up a little. 

Gourry laid down on the slope beside her, enough distance between the two of them for them both to feel comfortable. They lay back to back, and both fell into a deep sleep. 


	2. Ruby-Eyed Not-Gourry

_Oh, no! Gourry's acting weird! And red eyes? Hmm... I wonder... What could be happening to poor, dim Gourry?? *shrug* DUNNO!!! ^_^_

In the morning, just after sunrise, Gourry awoke with a start, his red eyes flashing in the early morning sunlight. He looked around him in confusion for a moment, before his eyes settled on a sleeping Lina. He turned to look down at her, and regained his wicked grin. 

Quickly, Gourry reached over and grabbed Lina's shoulder, rolling her onto her back. Lina groaned and glared at him for waking her up. It was then that she noticed his red eyes. She stared at him a moment, silent. 

In that moment, Gourry had shifted so that he was holding himself up with one arm on either side of Lina's shoulders. One knee was between Lina's legs, the other on the outside. Lina opened her mouth to demand what he thought he was doing, but she was cut off. Gourry's twisted grin plastered on his face, he bent down and kissed Lina roughly and hard on her lips. 

Lina was in shock. She didn't do anything because she was too surprised at what was going on. She had always wanted Gourry to kiss her, of course-- or vice versa --but this was completely different than anything she'd ever imagined. It didn't seem at all like Gourry. She was just regaining her composure when she felt Gourry's hand on her thigh. His hand slid up higher-- 

With a shout, Lina shoved Gourry off of her, and ran off as fast as she could, straight towards the town they'd been heading for earlier. 

Behind her, she heard Gourry call out, "Don't bother running, girl! I'll catch you!" Except his voice didn't sound like Gourry's at all. 

As she ran, Lina was furious to notice that she had to wipe tears out of her eyes in order to see the trail beneath her feet. She rubbed her mouth, trying to get the feeling of that kiss away. What had gotten into Gourry? No, that wasn't Gourry. That hadn't been Gourry. For one thing, he'd had red eyes, and Gourry's were blue. His voice wasn't the same, either. And he'd called her "girl," not "Lina." He hadn't called her "girl" for years. There was something completely and totally wrong. Whoever that had been, it wasn't Gourry. 

Lina then realized why she kept having goose pimples. It was because that man wasn't Gourry, and he was dangerous. 

"Now what did I tell you?" a voice asked from in front of her. 

Gasping, Lina looked up, and found herself facing Gourry-- Not Gourry. That was not Gourry, she told herself. "Who are you?" Lina demanded, amazed that she could keep her voice so steady. "Where's Gourry?" 

Not-Gourry chuckled once, and said, "You should rephrase that. You see, Gourry's body is right here. But his spirit is occupied at the moment." Then Not-Gourry laughed again, his red eyes glinting. 

"What do you mean?" Lina said through clenched teeth, her eyes narrowed. If that person had done anything to harm Gourry... 

"Let me explain," Not-Gourry said. "Your friend-- Gourry, was it? --touched the Dragon Sword." Not-Gourry drew the sword, the blade singing as it was brought out of its sheath. "Now, this blade," he went on. "Is very special, as you no doubt have noticed. You see, my spirit was trapped within this sword for ages. The only way for me to leave it, was for another to switch places with me. When your Gourry started wearing the sword, I started to work. I slowly got my spirit out of the sword, and into this body, while he was shoved out of his body, and into the sword." 

Lina glared at him, and shouted, "Then where's Gourry's spirit now?" 

After another chuckle, Not-Gourry said, "Oh, he's half here, half there. It's no trial, really, to take over this body, seeing as this Gourry person has a very weak spirit." 

Lina gritted her teeth. Sure Gourry was dense and dumb, but he didn't have a weak spirit. He was forceful and protective when he needed to be. "You give Gourry back," Lina growled. 

"Now why would I do that?" Not-Gourry said around laughter. 

"Because if you don't..." Lina started. She then called a Fireball into her hands to finish her sentence for her. 

Not-Gourry held up a finger, and said, "Ah, ah! I wouldn't do that! A Fireball would destroy Gourry's body, sending both our spirits wandering." 

Lina hesitated a moment, to see if he was lying, but then she reluctantly dropped her Fireball. "Fine," she said, not losing face. "Spirits, huh? Well, in that case, an Elmekia Lance will--" 

"Not so fast, dearie," Not-Gourry said, interrupting her. "An Elmekia Lance would destroy my spirit, but it would also destroy Gourry's as well. He's still here, you see, just not strong enough to force his way into control. Eventually, I will have complete control over his body, and his spirit will be forced into the sword." 

After a moment, Lina put her hands on her hips, and said, "Well, since you're telling me all of this, you might as well tell me how to stop you from taking over Gourry's body." 

"Can't do that, sweet-cheeks," Not-Gourry said, grinning again. "But, I'll tell you what. I'll kill you now so you don't have to watch me get rid of Gourry's spirit, and then destroy it." 

Lina stared at him incredulously, and felt her eyes tingling with the tell-tale sign of tears. She couldn't let herself cry. She couldn't. She forced them back, but kept thinking, He'd destroy Gourry's spirit? If he did that, then Gourry would... Gourry would... 

She couldn't finish her thought. Not-Gourry charged at her, blade drawn. Lina threw a Burst Rondo at him, not doing any real damage, but doing enough to delay him. Then she turned around, and started running for the cave where they had gotten the Dragon Sword. 

"In case you're wondering," Not-Gourry called out from behind her. "My name is Cael Carrick!" 

Lina didn't even think about stopping. Everything was because of that sword. Surely, something about spirits must be written somewhere in the cave. She had to find out how to stop that Cael person from taking over Gourry. 


	3. Alone in the Darkness

_Gasp and horror! Bad, evil, naughty Cael!!! In case you're wondering, his name is pronounced Kay-el... *shrug* ANYWAY! Bad, bad, bad Cael! And, oh no! He's taking over Gourry's spirit? Whatever shall we do??? _

Gourry woke up, and looked around. All around him was blackness. He called out Lina's name, but his voice seemed to die away before it even left his mouth. He tried to move, but it felt like something was forcing him down. 

After blinking a few times, Gourry saw two lights around him. One was above him, and the other was to one side. The one above him seemed to be covered by a dark curtain, and was barely visible, while the one to the side was bright and welcoming. 

His first act would have been to go towards the brighter light, but something held him back. Something told him to head for the dim light. So, with great effort, Gourry started inching his way up towards the shaded light. 

Whatever was forcing him back was very strong. He could barely move under the force. He wondered where he was, what he was doing there, and where Lina had gotten to. How had he ended up in that dark place, and Lina hadn't? 

Above him, the light got a tiny bit closer, but he still couldn't reach it. Gourry struggled to stretch one arm out, and tried to grab at the light, but then there was a tremendous amount of force that shoved against him, and he was knocked back down to where he started. 

Gourry knew he couldn't give up. Somehow, he knew he couldn't stay in the black place. Likewise, he knew he couldn't let himself head for the brighter light, either. He had to get to the dim light above him, or something awful would happen. He didn't know what and he didn't know why-- he just had a feeling. 

But for the time being, he needed to regain his strength. Even moving just those few inches had drained him, and he had to rest or he'd never be able to get out. So he'd just have to wait. 

Still, one question nagged at him, and kept him from sleep. He worried about that question constantly, and feared some of the answers he gave himself. Despite how much he knew he needed to sleep and regain his strength, he kept thinking: Where is Lina? 


	4. A Chance at Victory

_AWW! Poor Gourry! Trapped all alone in the darkness! *sniff* And he's worried about Lina!! How sweet!! ^^_

Lina dashed down the trail as fast as she could go. After a moment of thinking, she decided that Cael could run faster than her and catch up to her at any time. She had to go faster. So she cast her Ray Wing spell, and flew much faster than she could ever run. 

It was in this way that Lina reached the mountain around noon. She didn't remember where the entrance was, so she just blew up the whole side of the mountain, then found the corridor that way. She flew the entire way down, and into the central room. When she reached the room, she stood in front of the open doors that opened to the rack which had held the Dragon Sword. 

Quickly, Lina searched the entire shrine for any signs of writing. She looked all around the miniature dragon statues and claws. She searched inside and outside of the doors. Finally, she found writing on the pillars. 

"Whosoever toucheth this sword shall have to contend with the spirit locked within," Lina read. It was annoying, since the words were written in the old language, but she could understand it well enough. "To reverse the effects upon thy friend or thyself, the sword must be seperated from said personage before the spirit within claims the wielder's spirit completely." 

"Roughly translated," Lina muttered to herself. "If I don't get the sword away from Cael soon, he'll take over Gourry's body, and there'll be no turning back." She paused a moment, then, "All I have to do is get the sword away from him? How simple!" Then she cut herself off, and said, "Of course, I have to do it fast, or Gourry's spirit will we trapped inside that dreadful sword. And then, I'm guessing here, if the sword is broken, the spirit inside would be destroyed as well." 

Whatever way it was looked at, one thing was certain. She had to hurry and get that sword away from Cael before she lost Gourry forever. 

Lina took off on her Ray Wing again, and felt tears sting the corners of her eyes at the thought of not having Gourry around. He was her protector. He had to be with her. It was just so natural anymore. Him and her, her and him, traveling around the country. That's the way it'd been in the past, and that's the way it should be in the future. Just the two of them. 

As Lina flew, she wondered about how she would get the sword away from Cael. Maybe if Gourry came back into control for just a moment, she could convince him to give her the sword. But how would she get Gourry to come back into control? Cael's spirit was obviously stronger than Gourry's, even if Gourry wasn't weak. It would take something big to get Gourry to have the strength to come out. 

Suddenly, she had an idea. Like she had reminded herself a moment ago. Gourry was her protector. If she were in danger, he'd come into control to help her. Then she'd explain everything, and get him to give her the sword. Scratch that. He wouldn't understand if she tried to explain. She'd just have to get him to give her the sword. 

* * *

Gourry was amazed to find that he had somehow fallen asleep, even while constantly worrying about Lina. He sat alone in the darkness for a while, knowing he still hadn't regained enough of his strength to try to get through that black force again. 

After a while-- he couldn't tell how long; minutes seemed like hours in that place --Gourry realized that he had some knowing of what was going on back in the woods he and Lina had been in. He somehow felt that he was there in thaat woods, but in that dark place at the same time. The only thing was, though he was aware of the woods, he didn't sense-- he didn't really see anything, more like he felt it --Lina anywhere around. 

He had a strange sense of disembodiment. Like he was near his body, or around his body, but not really in his body. It was really weird, and Gourry took a moment to try to describe it to himself. Then he reminded himself that Lina was lost, and he had to reach that light. 

Even after being in that strange black place for what must have been hours-- and what felt like days --Gourry didn't know why he needed to get to that dim light so badly. He still just had the strong sense that he couldn't stay in the dark or go to the brighter light. 

Finally, after a while, Gourry gave up on trying to think. It hurt too much. He wasn't used to thinking too much very often. Thinking was always Lina's job, or Zelgadis's when he was there. Gourry had always been the protector, not the thinker. 

But still, even after telling himself he would try not to think about anything, he couldn't help but think about where Lina could be. He could sort of feel the woods around him, but Lina wasn't anywhere within his sensory range. Where could she be? 


	5. Still Alone in the Darkness

_WAHIE!!! Gourry was all alone in the dark again! But Lina found a way to save Gourry from the darkey all-aloney place! But how to do it? Hmm... tsk tsk... DUNNO!!! ^^_

The entire time Lina flew back towards Cael, she tried to think of what she could do that would give Gourry enough strength to fight Cael's spirit. She already knew it had to be a danger to her, but what? What would be enough of a danger that Gourry would be able to feel it from beneath Cael's spirit, and then get the strength to fight his way up? 

By the time Lina was within sight of Cael in Gourry's body, she still hadn't thought of anything. The only thing she could think of would be if a powerful mazoku attacked her, but that wasn't something you could schedule. Anything less than a high-level mazoku wouldn't really be a threat to her, being Lina Inverse, the beautiful sorcery genius and legendary bandit killer. 

Lina had just finished those thoughts when she reached Cael. She flew over his head, and landed on the ground in front of him, blocking his way down the path. 

"Oh, the mouse is ready to fight, is she?" Cael asked sardonically, grinning in a lopsided sort of way. One hand rested comfortably on the hilt of his sword, and he didn't seem tense at all. 

Lina glared at him, and said, "You betcha. I know how to get you out of Gourry's body, so that's just what I'm going to do." 

Cael laughed, and his red eyes glared down at her. "What? You think I'll just draw my sword, and give it to you? I think not." His hand tensed on the dragon-headed hilt of his sword. 

"That is not my intention," Lina said through clenched teeth, angered merely by being in his presence. 

"Then what do you plan to do, little mouse?" Cael asked condescendingly. 

Lina didn't drop her icy glare. She still hadn't figured out all the details of her plan yet. "Gourry's strong enough to gain control again," she told him. "Then I'll get the sword from him." 

Cael let out one short bark of laughter, before saying, "That man is more a mouse than you ever will be, girl. Do you know how easy it was for me to subdue him and take control? I wouldn't be surprised if his spirit is being forced into the sword even as we speak." When Lina just glared daggers at him, he continued his ranting in a jovial tone. "About that blonde idiot swordsman," he said. "With our spirits in contact like this, I can sense most of his feelings. And you know, mouse, most of his feelings are about you." 

Lina's eyes widened in shock, and she stared incredulously up at Cael. "What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously. 

"I mean," Cael said. "That this bloody big oaf has got feelings for the dainty little mouse. How quaint." 

In truth, Lina hadn't been expecting anything like that. She staggered back a step at the news. She had suspicions, of course, that Gourry might consider her more than a friend, but she really didn't think that-- She never thought that-- 

And Cael was going to kill Gourry! If she didn't do something fast, Gourry would be gone. He'd be lost to her forever. What to do, what to do? What could she do? Lina wanted to shove her hands in her hair, stomp around, and growl at anything, but she couldn't let Cael gain the upper hand by watching her do that. She had to keep a calm facade. But she had to think of something-- fast! 


	6. What's Going On?

_Ooh! Gourry's feelings are about Lina!! That was sort of a bad way for her to find out that Gourry liked her, huh? Mean, evil Cael... Grr! Arg! And he keeps calling Lina "mouse"... Does that make him the lion? Or the elephant? *grin*_

Gourry was once again thinking of where Lina was. He had the faint sense that he was moving somehow, but he wasn't moving inside the darkness. It was more like the darkness was moving, and taking him with it. Another fascinating experience he couldn't quite describe. 

Suddenly, Gourry felt Lina's presence in the woods. He was aware that she came flying in, and she was very mad about something, but very determined. After a minute or two, those feelings grew to indescribable fear. 

Lina was afraid! Afraid of what? What could scare Lina like that? Whatever it was, it shouldn't be scaring her. Whatever it was, he had to defeat it, and protect Lina from it. But first he had to get to that dim light. 

But that fact that something out there was scaring Lina that much gave him renewed strength he didn't know he had. He had only one objective in mind: get to Lina. He had to protect her. 

With his newfound strength, Gourry shoved against the invisible black force pushing down against him. He fought it with every shred of his being, forcing himself through it, forcing it back. He was almost to the light. He could make it. He had to. Lina needed him. Just a little further, and he'd be there. Just a little further. He was almost to the light. 

Finally, with one last shove, Gourry burst out into the light. He was suddenly out of the darkness, and was back in the woods he had felt aruond him before. He blinked a bit to orient himself, and then remembered. He looked around for Lina, and then found her, standing in front of him, and glaring daggers at him. 

"Lina?" he asked tentatively. What had he done that time to get her so angry? 

Suddenly, Lina's expression shifted, and Gourry swore he saw the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "Gourry!" she cried out. "Gourry, is that really you?" 

Gourry nodded, a little confused. Then he realized that while he was in that black place, Lina was probably off looking for him. To his surprise, Lina ran forward the short distance separating them, and caught him in a hug. He wasn't sure what to do at first, but then he draped his arms around Lina's back. 

"I was so afraid you'd gone already," Lina said, her cheek against his chest. 

"Gone where?" Gourry asked. Suddenly, he felt something tugging back on him. It was the same force that had tried to push him down, and it was now trying to pull him down. He struggled against it, determined to stay away from that black place. 

Lina suddenly gasped, and backed up. Gourry was sorely disappointed when she left his arms. "Gourry, quick, give me your sword." 

Gourry blanched. "But, Lina, without my sword, I can't prote--" 

"You'd do much, much more for me if you give me the sword," Lina told him. "I can't explain right now, but you have to trust me. Give me the Dragon Sword, Gourry." 

He hesitated only a moment, but handed the sword over to Lina when he felt another tug on himself. It seemed to come from the inside, but not inside him. It was extremely hard to identify where that tug came from. He knew it was inside him somewhere, but he also knew that it wasn't inside him. It was like... Like... Not his body, but maybe his spirit? 

Lina snatched the sword out of his hands, and backed away a few steps before throwing it out into the trees. 

Suddenly, the tugging inside Gourry stopped. He seemed almost to floast away from himself. It was a very odd sensation, and the feeling was doubled when he saw his body fall unconsciously to the ground. What was going on? 


	7. Gourry Returns in Success

_WAH! What's going on?? What's happening? I bet you're wondering that, right? Well, you find out... just as soon as I stop typing this! Meaning, if I keep typing up here, then you'll never ever get to the actual story part, right? Right? I mean, I COULD be cruel and do something like that to you, right? Yeah, I could, but I won't... I'm not evil... Evilness is bad... So I'm gonna stop typing and let you read the story!_

Lina got rid of the Dragon Sword as quickly as she could, and watched Gourry for any changes. The changes came instantly. Gourry seemed to waver a bit, and for a moment it seemed as thought Lina were seeing doubles. Then everything came back into focus. Gourry's body dropped to the grouns, unconscious. But standing in the air were two very ethereal people. 

One was obviously Gourry's spirit, and seemed a pale, translucent blue color, and he had his usual cheerful, yet confused, expression on his face. 

The other was a man just slightly shorter than Gourry, with wispy hair. The man, who was no doubt Cael, appeared as a dense red spirit, with a glare strong enough to challenge Lina's spread across his face. 

Lina looked back and forth between the two spirits for a moment, before she demanded, "What's going on?" 

Cael's spirit turned to face her. Even ethereal, his red eyes glinted malevolently. "My dear mouse, you should have read the entire text. When the sword leaves the body, the two spirits then fight for the right to have control over the body. The stronger spirit gets the body, while the weaker wanders around aimlessly. If the sword is still intact, the wandering spirit can stay there. If not, they are rogue spirits." 

Lina opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it, finding she couldn't counter what he said. It seemed to be feasible in comparison with everything else that had happened lately. 

Grinning again, Cael turned to face a very confused Gourry. "And now," Cael said, his red eyes flashing. "We battle." 

Gourry nodded in determination, and reached at his hip for his sword. He stared when he realized he didn't have a sword. "How am I supposed to fight without a weapon?" he demanded. 

Cael shrugged, and said, "Figure it out, genius." Then he drew his own sword, which was just as ethereal as his body, and charger at Gourry, the blade over his head, ready for a downward swing. 

Somehow, Gourry managed to duck and roll away from the swinging blade. But he didn't come away unscathed. A long score on his cheek proved that he wasn't quite quick enough. 

Lina was furious that Gourry had gotten hurt. Never once had she ever seen Gourry get hurt in a sword fight. Of course, the spirits' battle couldn't really be called a sword fight, seeing as Gourry was weaponless. The fact that Gourry could only dodge just added to her fury. Slowly, so as not to draw attention, she brought her hands up in front of her chest. She waited for the right moment, when Cael's back was to her, before he shouted, "Elmekia Lance!" 

The green arrow of light shot out, and pierced Cael right through the center of his back, before exploding in a bright flash. When the dust from the explosion cleared, Lina looked at where Cael and Gourry were fighting, and saw no one. Cael's spirit was gone. Gourry's spirit was gone. 

Lina stood there, doing nothing, before she remembered the Dragon Sword. She hurried into the woods, and, using her Balus Rod, she cleaved the sword into two halves, a wispy grey smoke floating up into the air, and disappearing with the clouds. 

Off to the side, Gourry's body started to wake up again. Lina hurried over there, praying that it was Gourry, and not Cael. She quickly rolled him over onto his back, and impatiently waited for him to open his eyes. When they were open, Lina smiled widely as she realized they were bright blue. It was Gourry. 

Lina pulled Gourry into a sitting position, and threw her arms around him, ecstatic that he was back. Without hesitation, Gourry's arms surrounded her, and pulled her close. "Thank you, Lina," Gourry said softly. "I couldn't have done it without you." 

Lina backed away a bit, but making sure her hands were still on Gourry's shoulders. "This time it was my turn to protect you, right?" she asked. 

Gourry's face broke into a wide grin, and he nodded, before he pulled her back in an even tighter embrace. 

It was then that Lina remembered something Cael had said. She pushed away from Gourry, and folded her hands in her lap. "Gourry," she started, shifting a bit so she wasn't sitting on her feet. "Cael said something. He said that you had..." Lina hadn't even said anything, and she was already blushing. "He said you had... well, feelings for me... And I wondered if..." She stared at the ground, waiting for an answer. When that answer didn't come, she slowly looked up at Gourry. 

Gourry was just smiling down at her like he always did. "Of course I have feelings for you," he said. "I am your protector, after all. If I didn't feel that you were anything worth protecting, then I wouldn't be here, would I?" 

Lina shook her head, and let herself be drawn into Gourry's strong arms again. "And you were strong for me when you needed to be," Lina told him. 

"That's what I'm here for," was Gourry's response. 


End file.
